1. Field of the Invention
The field of art to which this invention pertains may be generally located in the class of devices relating to shock absorbers. Class 188, brakes, United States Patent Office Classification appears to be the applicable general area of art to which the subject matter similar to this invention has been classified in the past.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The purpose of industrial shock absorbers is to decelerate a load, that is to stop a moving mass, by creating a reaction force that resists the movement of the load and brings it to a full stop. There are two basic kinds of linear decelerating shock absorbers, namely adjustable and nonadjustable. Adjustable shock absorbers can work for a large range of loads or weights. For instance, a single adjustable shock absorber, when properly adjusted, can decelerate loads from 24 pounds to 2400 pounds, which would be a ratio of 100 to 1. However, once adjusted, it functions as a nonadjustable shock absorber which is limited to a weight range or ratio of 2 to 1, as for example 24 pounds to 48 pounds. The advantage of an adjustable shock absorber is that it can be adjusted to any one of the weights from 24 pounds to 2400 pounds. However, a disadvantage of an adjustable shock absorber is that once it is adjusted for one weight, it cannot accommodate much variation in weight, or propelling force. The advantage of a nonadjustable shock absorber is that it can be custom designed to accommodate a range of weights with ratios as high as 10 to 1. A nonadjustable shock absorber can also be designed to provide a custom or specific deceleration or reaction force, which produces a better sounding and better looking performance to the human observer. Even though a nonadjustable shock absorber can be designed to accommodate a range of weights, it cannot accommodate a weight range nearly as wide as an adjustable shock absorber.